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Sight Through Sound: Ryuichi Sakamoto

Charting his profound sonic evolution in films from heart-tugging orchestrations to minimalist abstractions, witness the growth of Ryuichi Sakamoto - and celebrate brilliance borne of unquenchable curiosity.

With a varied, distinguished career spanning four decades, the contributions of Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto to the world of film is nothing short of legendary.

Blazing into the scene with his iconic signature film score on Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, Sakamoto quickly solidified himself as part of an Oscar-winning formula when it comes to movie-making – with a resplendent, diverse resume of award-winning films featuring decorated directors such as Bernado Bertolucci, Pedro Almodovar and Alejandro Innaritu.

This November we take a closer look at 4 distinct eras of Sakamoto – the majestic 80s, heart-swelling 90s, the minimalist 2000s, and the avante garde recent decade. From the early career iconic orchestrations of Merry Christmas Mr, Lawrence (1983) to the idyllic, reserved maturity of Tony Takitani (2004) and leading into the intoxicating abstractions in Proxima (2019), we chart the musical growth of a restless tinkerer and obsessive genius– one who bent and wielded the rules of music to bring us some of the most memorable and beloved films to remember the world by.

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Films

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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Dir. Nagisa Oshima
123 minutes | PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Disturbing Scenes)
English, Japanese, with English Subtitles

Showtimes
20 Nov (Sun) | 4.30pm
17 Dec (Sat) | 2pm
25 Dec (Sun) | 4.45pm

During World War II, British soldier Jack Celliers (David Bowie) is captured by Japanese forces and held in a prison camp by the honor-bound Capt. Yanoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto). Yanoi and gruff Sgt. Hara (Takeshi Kitano) become intrigued with Celliers' open defiance in the face of their staunchly old-world ideas about cowardice and shame.
The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)

The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)

Dir. Volker Schlöndorff
109 minutes | M18 (Scenes of Intimacy)
English

Showtimes
6 Nov (Sun) | 2.30pm
18 Dec (Sun) | 2pm
31 Dec (Sat) | 2pm

Based off Margaret Atwood’s household classic with an adapted screenplay from renowned playwright Harold Pinter, this chilling dystopian tale of handmaiden’s assigned to different men to bear children is underscored by the familiar synth flourishes reminiscent of Sakamoto’s time with YMO.
High Heels (1991)

High Heels (1991)

Dir. Pedro Almodovar
112 minutes | R21 (Sexual Scene)
Spanish with English Subtitles

Showtimes
12 Nov (Sat) | 2.30pm
19 Nov (Sat) | 2pm
11 Dec (Sun) | 2pm
17 Dec (Sat) | 5pm

Fresh off his critically and commercially successful absurdist titles Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down! and Laws Of Desire, Almodovar ups the camp ante with a mystery whodunnit involved a mother and her abandoned daughter. This sparks Sakamoto’s uncertain territory into camp fiction, who produced a score Almodovar allegedly disapproves.
Tony Takitani (2004)

Tony Takitani (2004)

Dir. Jun Ichikawa
105 minutes | PG
Japanese with English subtitles

Showtimes
6 Nov (Sun) | 5pm
20 Nov (Sun) | 2pm
18 Dec (Sun) | 5pm
31 Dec (Sat) | 11am
1 Jan (Sun) | 2pm

Based off one of the best-selling stories of Haruki Murakami - a lonely man meets a woman whom he falls in love with and eventually marries, fundamentally changing his life as he feels closeness and security for the first time. However, she has one flaw: an addiction to shopping.
Women Without Men (2009)

Women Without Men (2009)

Dir. Shirin Neshat
95 minutes | M18 (Sexual Scenes & Nudity)
Persian and English with English subtitles

Showtimes
12 Nov (Sat) | 5pm
19 Nov (Sat) | 4.30pm
11 Dec (Sun) | 4.30pm
24 Dec (Sat) | 2pm

The streets of Tehran, Iran, are teeming with protesters objecting to the overthrow of the prime minister, but four disparate women have more immediate concerns. Boldly, the women pursue solutions to the problems foisted upon them.
Proxima (2021)

Proxima (2021)

Dir. Alice Winocour
68 minutes | NC16 (Some Nudity and Coarse Language)
French, English, Russian, German with English subtitles

Showtimes
31 Dec (Sat) | 5pm

One of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s latest films in his late stage career – a beautiful tale of separation and single parenthood through the eyes of an astronaut (Eva Green). Traces of Tarkovskian measured subtles are all over Sakamoto’s moody yet reserved score, highlighting his obsession with Tarkovsky’s films set in space.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017)

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017)

Dir. Stephen Nomura Schible
102 minutes | PG
Japanese and English with English subtitles

Showtimes
5 Nov (Sat) | 2.30pm
13 Nov (Sun) | 2.30pm
19 Nov (Sat) | 11am
27 Nov (Sun) | 11am
3 Dec (Sat) | 11am
10 Dec (Sat) | 2.30pm
18 Dec (Sun) | 11am
24 Dec (Sat) | 11am

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda takes a thoughtful look at the composer's life and legacy that should prove affecting and illuminating for novices as well as longtime fans.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: async Live At Park Avenue Armory New York (2018)

Ryuichi Sakamoto: async Live At Park Avenue Armory New York (2018)

Dir. Stephen Nomura Schible
65 minutes | PG
Japanese and English with English subtitles

Showtimes
5 Nov (Sat) | 5pm
13 Nov (Sun) | 5pm
10 Dec (Sat) | 5pm

A concert movie featuring Sakamoto’s first solo album since his recovery from cancer, interspersed with mesmerising moving image artworks from Takashi Makino.